Volunteers rescue 'swamp dogs' from Everglades

On a recent Sunday afternoon, the parking lot at Imperial Point Animal Hospital on East Commercial Boulevard was overflowing. The air was sharp with barks, woofs and the occasional whine.

But this wasn't an ordinary day at the hospital.

Veterinarian Robert Buzzetti was one of 20 volunteers who spent the morning rescuing 30 distressed dogs from in and around the Everglades. It's a growing problem, volunteers say.

Most of the dogs are left abandoned by owners who can no longer care for them. The 30 dogs rescued Sunday were brought back to Fort Lauderdale to be treated and hopefully adopted.

"We've brought in maybe 400 dogs since we began these rescues last September," said Amy Restucci, founder of the organization that brought off the day's rescue effort, 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida. "Normally, filling the vans with strays is a day's work, but today we were full up by 1 p.m. That tells me the problem is getting worse. I've been shouting from the rooftops because there are tens of thousands of these dogs roaming around."

Abandoned Dogs of Everglades began when someone told Restucci about starving dogs in Homestead. Seeing the problem once was enough, she said.

"When I got there," she said, "I couldn't turn away."

Eventually, Restucci recruited other volunteers like Buzzetti, who owns Imperial Point Animal Hospital, and his wife, Gina, along with staff technician Lauren Liutermoza and Lisa Schettino, CEO of the Camp Canine dog spas. Restucci later began a Facebook page to attract supporters and donations.

When her forces go out on a rescue, she said, they plan for months.

"I ask for donations of food," Restucci said. "When we're ready for the rescue, we load up the trucks with 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of food."

As to why owners would drive so far to get rid of an animal they can no longer care for, Buzzetti said anonymity plays a part.

"Fort Lauderdale doesn't have much of a stray dog problem," he said. "It's too populous. People drive to the Everglades, about 35 miles away, to dump [them]. It's desolate [and] they can't be seen."

The rescue often takes the volunteers as far south as Miami, where strays gather by nearby plant nurseries, Restucci said. Then in large turkey pans, volunteers leave the hundreds of pounds of food they have collected. "We put out [the] big turkey pans... to feed and water the dogs we can't bring in," she said.

On Sunday, 20 volunteers worked rapidly, hauling cages of stray dogs. Once at the hospital, the dogs were cleaned up, vaccinated and treated for cuts and bruises, broken bones and disease. In the end, they will all likely be neutered or spayed and wait to be adopted.

One by one, the volunteers name them. The chocolate Labrador with the bad leg is Dolly; Henry is a boxer that needs eye surgery. The terrier, Samson, looks like he knows his luck has changed.

Abandoned Dogs of Everglades helps pay for the cost of treatment.

"I'm working on a huge fundraiser for the rescuers," Schettino said. "It'll be in the fall. I hope to collect a lot of money."

For information on 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida, visit the Facebook page at Facebook.com/AbandonedDogsEverglades. Or call Amy Restucci at 561-860-3783.